Personnel from Russia'sEastern Military District have started removing waste from Wrangel Island, the military district's press service reports.

"An Eastern Military District Mi-26 helicopter has airlifted the environmental platoon and requisite equipment to Wrangel Island in the Chukotka Autonomous Area. As many as 30 soldiers are already removing scrap metal near the village of Ushakovskoye on the island," the press service notes.

After completing the work in Ushakovskoye, the environmental platoon will continue to work on Cape Hawaii.

They will to collect, compact and cut up about 600 metric tons of scrap metal until early October, and send it to mainland Russia.

Auxiliary fleet vessels and those of other companies delivering freight to the Arctic will also ship some of the compacted scrap metal to the mainland.